Tabletop probes for TeV physics: Searches for the electric dipole moment
of the electron

David DeMille
Yale University

Remarkably, the virtual exchange of exotic heavy particles--such as those
predicted to exist in supersymmetric and grand unified theories-- can lead to
observable effects in ordinary matter. This talk will describe a set of
experiments searching for such an effect: namely, a permanent electric dipole
moment along the spin of the electron. The most sensitive experiments of this
type are already sensitive to new physics at the TeV scale, and set important
limits on possible extensions to the standard model. I will also report on
our progress in developing a new technique, which promises several orders of
magnitude improvement in sensitivity.